Let me start by saying that I do not think Bob Russell's editorial should have been written and posted today. Next Monday, yes. One month after release, yes. But on the day of the launch, I don't think there is enough information available (nor have we had time to integrate the information) to take such an extreme position. Bob, I respect your opinion, it's just too early to have formed one.

And then there is the conspiracy theorist troll and the "Kindle is fugly" troll. I will not name names, but there are two individuals whose behavior is trollish. Please note that I am not referring to everyone who has taken a position on the Kindle, just these two.

And let's not forget the whiners. Some of the more extreme ones bug me because the product has been out less than 24 hours, and there just isn't enough info yet to take a position. There are the people complaining about the lack of certain features (which are not on any other ebook device nor has Amazon said they would be available). And then there are the complaints about the format and DRM restrictions, and how Amazon is only selling the 88k ebooks in their format for their device. Okay, what part of Ipod of reading did you not understand?

The Kindle seems to be kindling quite some emotional outbursts...
You should read about the iPhone launch in Germany on a few forums...that get's even more intense which could be a good sign for Amazon and the Kindle since it could mean they will be able to duplicate Apple's iPod/iTunes success.

Enjoy your vacation...or better just atay away from the Kindle section for a while...I'll be doing the same thing but for different reasons...

I've only been on this site two days and I'm finding all the hype about the kindle annoying as well. But then I find any extreme hype annoying...

For the most part this place seems better than some - it's a lot easier to skip over the extremist 'i have no idea but if i shout it loud enough people will agree' type of posts for instance. Most are quite interesting ideas on possibly scenerios/outcomes that could take place, however unlikely they may be. Some people however do take everything a bit seriously and start waving their doomsday banners at every opportunity.

ps: I think it's ugly too - form is a factor for me i'm afraid. I'll look forward to the review.

Any respectable critic would want to see the item (book, play, movie, Kindle) before criticizing it. How many people here have held a Kindle in their hands?

Well, based on pictures maybe you might not be able to judge whether the device is going to sit comfortable in your hand, however, we can safely say whether it looks good or not. Moreover, I don't know any other reader that would draw the same opinion from so many forum member. If you like the device, it doesn't mean that another forum member cannot say that it is ugly.

I don't like how it looks. I do find it ugly. Even my wife thinks so. When I showed her amazon's movie yesterday, she didn't want to believe it is a contemporary reading device. She said it reminds her of an old (20-30 years)Russian calculator. I also don't like keyboard. It was supposed to be foldable at least, or have an option to disconnect it completely.
What, in my opinion, makes Sony and iRex appealing is that they are not much bigger than the screens they are using. CyBook falls into this cathegory as well. I have not checked but I have a feeling that Kindle is longer than iRex, while it has much smaller screen.

Well, if it can confort you nate, there is one thing I found beautiful on the Kindle, if you look at the back closely there is jumble of alphabet charaters flying all over the surface; cute.

Asides from the design and the eternal... DRM criticism, there is a lot to be liked about that Kindle. Ergonomy is quite good, I love the button layout and that right side slider looks promising. Connectivity is also great.

As you say, other than visuals from pictures, nothing can be analysed other than trying it.

As for Bob's thread it was aimed at ebook popularity in particular, not necessarily the Kindle itself but Amazon's maintaining a closed loop system like some actual readers themselves. Perhaps Bob was envisionning Amazon to be a saviour of some sorts with the clout to free the ebook. Note that he says nothing of the periodicals availability nor the blogging posssibilities which in themselves are purpose enough to warrant aquisition of Kindle well certainly for me.

I'll say it. Even though I hate the appearance of Kindle, I would buy it and will when Telus offers the service in Canada.